Hollywood is an ever-shifting set of lists of actors and actresses. Who can lead an action movie, a rom-com? Who’s a character actor? Of course, the “A-list” is entrenched in our subconscious. There’s no doubt that Leo or Chalamet get more offers to headline movies than they know what to do with. The rest of the field is in a constant battle to get more and better roles. You can make the jump to A-list with one home-run indie (see: Call Me By Your Name) or a series of doubles and triples (see: Michelle Yeoh). And, of course, you don’t have to jump to the A-list. Getting to headline a streaming TV series or A24 movie would sound very nice to many of those below.
This list is a set of predictions of who will make the jump in 2024. From series regular to series lead, from B-list to A-list, from one breakout role to established Hollywood presence, and so on. There are five categories (and one bonus one). Each list deals with a different level of status: Jodie Comer and Dafne Keen are not the same, and we’re not predicting they’ll be in the same place by 2025.
Onward we go. But first, a list of actors and actresses that just missed the list…
Cailee Spaeny broke out in 2023 in Priscilla and is already landing A-list roles in Civil War and Alien… Callum Turner is dating Dua Lipa! That’s enough for a Pete Davidson-sized boost, but with leads in Boys in the Boat and Masters of the Air, it seems he’s arrived… Everyone’s favorite devilishly handsome actor, Theo James, finally got serious things to do in White Lotus and crushed it. With the big-budget Netflix show The Gentlemen a mortal lock for a second season, James seems entrenched in work for a long time to come… Tom Glynn-Carney would’ve been our third House of the Dragon actor on this list. It’s hard to place him – he has exposure, whether he can convert that to any meaningful leading role is up to him and the powers that be.
To the A-List
- Jodie Comer
WHO: It was tough to justify putting Comer on this list. Well-reviewed stints in Killing Eve and The Last Duel mean she’s arguably already A-list material. However: the depth of Comer’s talent mean there’s no reason she can’t be thought of as one of the top five actresses in the world. That jump is what’s being predicted here.
WHY: She’s hot, winning both the Tony and Olivier awards for her Best Actress performance in Prima Facie. The tour de force should help her receive bigger parts and projects and I predict continued excellence makes her go supersonic. Specifically, she will have high visibility in the hotly anticipated The Bikeriders.
EXPECT: Her ascent to become meteoric after Bikeriders, consensus as one of the 5-10 hottest actresses in Hollywood, and an ability to compete for any role by 2025.
- Harris Dickinson
WHO: Dickinson’s star really started to burn after the Palme d’Or-winning Triangle of Sadness, playing a male model unhappy in his life and relationship. He’s gained momentum with the FX show A Murder at the End of the World and a prime supporting role in The Iron Claw. He’s the English answer to Austin Butler, just waiting for his Elvis role.
WHY: It’s rare to be 27 and already have such a streak of standout performances under his belt. You need a leading man? Watch Triangle. He stole the show in Murder. He showed off a better American accent than Jeremy Allen White, an erstwhile American, in Claw. Talent is a prerequisite at his level. What separates him is his demonstrated versatility (lead, support) at such an early stage of the career. To really get to the A-list, he needs more leads.
EXPECT: Lots of opportunity, especially in high-end supporting roles for Oscar bait, with an eye on leading roles in 2025. Steve McQueen’s Blitz will continue the rise.
- Olivia Cooke
WHO: Cooke would’ve made this list last year (if it had been written) under a different category. Hell, she would’ve made it in 2017 and 2018 under different categories. Now, there’s only one more place left for her to rise: the A-list. That’s what the Game of Thrones spin-off does for you after a starring turn in an indie (Thoroughbreds), a Spielberg movie, and matching Gary Oldman in Slow Horses.
WHY: This is really an opportunity-based prediction. Cooke has been ready for stardom since Thoroughbreds. While HOTD will be hard-pressed to match Thrones’ cultural impact or viewership, it is one of, if not the, biggest show in 2024. With a juicy role, and no more younger version of the character stealing screentime, Cooke’s talents will be known countrywide by the end of the year.
EXPECT: Cooke to surpass any level of stardom or opportunity that Emilia Clarke had or has. Her prior body of work shows she can fit in any movie.
- Conor McGregor
After a powerhouse performance in Roadhouse… Just kidding.
Threatening the A-List
- Christopher Abbott
WHO: Around for awhile, but now poised to catch fire. Abbott had a good supporting CV before, but his lead in Catch-22 was a significant showcase. Sanctuary, a thrilling two-hander that also helped Margaret Qualley explode, continued his rise. The recent supporting role in Poor Things was a great sign of newfound standing and reputation.
WHY: Objects in motion tend to stay in motion.
EXPECT: Can he really make the A-list? It’s crowded. But Abbott has the chance to do so, playing the heavy in a superhero movie (Kraven the Hunter) as well as taking over a role (Wolfman) Ryan Gosling dropped out of. Depending on how those two do, Abbott may see large, high-end supporting roles by 2025.
- Jack Lowden
WHO: Remember the good-looking trapped pilot from Dunkirk? That’s Jack Lowden, formally introduced to American audiences with the Apple+ hit Slow Horses. Playing foil to Gary Oldman and holding your own is no easy task. Lowden has done it.
WHY: Lowden has a Nolan-sized stamp of approval, a hit American show to accompany his hit British miniseries (The Gold) and is (for good measure) engaged to Saiorse Ronan.
EXPECT: After the conclusion of Slow Horses, another lead in an expensive “Top-3” (HBO/Prime/Apple) production or BBC. The pathway to movie leads is murkier, but he has the looks and skill. Perhaps he and Ronan could come together again (Mary Queen of Scots was the first) for a big production?
Been Around, Starting to Feel Dangerous
- Jack O’Connell
WHO: Just 33, O’Connell has been on the verge of breaking out for a decade. He played the lead in Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken in 2014 after an early turn on Skins. In 2017, he led the big-budget Netflix miniseries Godless. Add in his current lead in the well-received SAS: Rogue Heroes and O’Connell feels primed for more.
WHY: Again, it’s simply unusual to have so many leads by such a young age. Where Lowden or Cooke might be looking for another starring project or two, O’Connell can readily say he’s a leading man. There’s a jump to leading a TV series, and another to leading large Hollywood productions. O’Connell is just looking for the latter now.
EXPECT: More leads in British productions and miniseries while he looks to steal a lead from a Garfield or Pattinson.
- Maya Erskine
WHO: Erskine came to prominence for PEN15, a goofy remembrance of middle school. Her career took a (good) left turn in 2023 when she voiced Mizu in Blue Eye Samurai and played Jane Smith in Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
WHY: Both of Erskine’s shows in 2023 were well-received and a hard departure from PEN15. It revealed her extremely capable dramatic repertoire. Dramatic opportunities are now open to her as a result.
EXPECT: New seasons for both shows and Erskine to gain a ton of supporting looks across movies and especially TV.
- Cosmo Jarvis
WHO: When I watched the FX hit Shogun for the first time this year, I assumed the lead was from either the theater or a new discovery. Forgive me, Cosmo. Jarvis has been around the block. He was notably in Florence Pugh’s breakout 2016 Lady Macbeth and has been handed a surprising amount of leading roles (with mixed results) since then.
WHY: Two words: watch Shogun.
EXPECT: A customary “heating-up” period of taking young gun roles under starrier, older actors – with full leads in 2026.
- Dafne Keen
WHO: Keen was the surprise of Logan, the best X-Men movie made to date. I’d never seen her before that role and wasn’t sure if I would after. Young stars can get absolutely lost. Where the hell is Lucas Hedges? But Keen stayed active with the well-reviewed (and not at all watched) His Dark Materials and is booked for a Star Wars show, The Acolyte, in 2024.
WHY: There’s always going to be a market for young 20’s actors/actress who possess serious talent. Unlike most others on this list, Keen is not here for performances in 2023. Rather, the upcoming Acolyte is, well, lyte on star power and I have to assume Keen gets a lot of screentime. Match Keen’s talent with the visibility of a Star Wars show and you get fireworks.
EXPECT: After Acolyte, a raft of starring roles in mid- to low-budget movies.
Coming on the Radar
- Ella Purnell
WHO: It was hard to leave Purnell out of the Threatening A-List category! She was the best (young) part of Yellowjackets and had the good fortune of being killed off before the show’s second season exploded into a raging dumpster fire. She will star in Fallout in 2024.
WHY: Fallout figures to be a hit. The trailer looks good, the video game franchise has a dedicated following, and – did I mention – the trailer actually looks good? There are a lot of opportunities in Purnell’s age bracket – think Steinfeld as her ceiling – and Purnell, unlike some of her contemporaries, has acted across genres.
EXPECT: In terms of video-game adaptations, Fallout will stack up closer to Last of Us than Halo, and Purnell will threaten A-list status going into 2025.
- Ewan Mitchell
WHO: Mitchell is a personal favorite. He made his bones with sword-swinging performances in The Last Kingdom and now House of the Dragon, where he was a consensus standout in the first season. Mitchell saved the best for last: he was, for my money, the best part of Saltburn.
WHY: Saltburn shows he’s on the radar of major movie releases after his strong television showings. Mitchell, like Cooke, stands to benefit from expanded screen time in this year’s House of the Dragon. Could he break out and have a Kit Harington-sized profile by the end of the second season? Let me go a step further. With all respect, Harington was never in a movie like Saltburn.
EXPECT: Less profile than peak Kit Harington, but being a better actor means Mitchell should land near Oscar-baity movies and roles. Leading roles seem at least two years away.
2025 Is Their Year
- Leo Woodall
WHO: Woodall burst onto the scene as a charismatic… person in White Lotus’ second season.
WHY: It’s not often that a romantic TV series gets legitimately rave reviews. 40-70% on Rotten Tomatoes is the sweet spot there. Woodall, magnetic in Lotus, has done the trick with One Day. His performance there drew some Brad Pitt comparisons.
EXPECT: An Apple+ show comes this year, as does a part in a Rami Malek-Russell Crowe historical drama. Woodall will have every romantic opportunity in the world available to him. It’ll be important to land a lower-budget, A24-esque lead to expand and keep the momentum rolling.
- Freya Allan
WHO: Allan didn’t originally land the role of Cirilla in The Witcher, but when another actress dropped, she was invited back and sealed it. That, and really that role alone, surprisingly won her the role of Human #1 in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
WHY: Witcher had a dedicated following on Netflix before a self-induced implosion going into the third season. She’s now helming a major Hollywood release as its focal point. From the trailer, it looks like she’s one of the only humans onscreen. It’s simply rare to be in a massive Netflix show and to lead a major release before you turn 23.
EXPECT: Allan is hamstrung a bit by the nuclear waste of Witcher season three. It doesn’t help that the decline in that show coincided with more emphasis on Allan. Still, these gorilla movies do well (and won’t seem to end). You’ll see more of Allan, with the horror genre seeming a logical next step, and she is poised to compete with Purnell/Keen types going forward.
Don’t You Have Enough Money
- Brian Tyree Henry
WHO: An actor formerly dedicated to excelling on the small screen (Atlanta) and in indies (Causeway).
WHY: We love Brian. But he gets his own category because, after years of crushing in small-budget expenditures… He decided he wants his great-grandkids to be set up for life. Seriously. In three years he’s booked Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla vs. Kong: Bigger Kong, Bigger Godzilla, the Marvel romp Eternals and recently doubled down with Transformers One.
EXPECT: A large tax bill. Maybe an X-Men role. And the new Lord of the Rings series – Thrones doesn’t have enough CGI.
And The Three Biggest Jumps in 2024 Will Be…
I can’t say I got on early enough to drive the Jodie Comer bandwagon, but I’m handing out orange slices and Capri Suns on it. There is zero, nothing, that should prevent her from handling the juiciest roles going forward: tentpole or Oscar bait. Some will say this is an obvious choice, but I disagree. So much, too much, rides on Bikeriders. Is it an Oscar nom, or (with all due respect) another disappointing Tom Hardy prestige pic… Likewise, Ella Purnell has a lot riding on her upcoming project. This is a bet on Fallout as well as her talent. If the show approaches Last of Us viewership, Purnell has a much higher ceiling than Bella Ramsey… In soccer, there’s a growing movement to reward players for getting good chances rather than converting good chances. Cosmo Jarvis has gotten a lot of leading roles and opportunities. With his performance in Shogun, it looks like he’s starting to convert, too. The sky is the limit.
First Take Forever 